Galapagos Scuba Diving Fatality - February 12, 2010 - Eloise Gale

[Bubbletrubble]

I read through all accidents reported /discussed because I think there are lessons to be learned. This happened in the Galapagos, but it could have happened anywhere. Becoming mentally prepared for the specifics of any dive trip is part of a diver's responsibility, but instilling fear of a destination could backfire.

I think what most of the thread participants are talking about is respect for Galapagos dive conditions, not fear per se. There's a big difference in my mind between the two.

Many divers safely dive the Galapagos every single day. And it is so very worth it or people wouldn't dream of doing it as a result of all the people who rave about doing it.

This is a fair point, but it would carry much more weight if it came from someone who didn't have such a clear conflict of interest. Your business is booking people on Galapagos dive vacations, isn't it?

 

[DiveTheGalapagos]

This is a fair point, but it would carry much more weight if it came from someone who didn't have such a clear conflict of interest. Your business is booking people on Galapagos dive vacations, isn't it?

Figured someone would say that. Almost added that I say this as a diver, not as an operator. If you were to look at my posts on this forum, you would see that about 99% of mine are as a diver and the few that are biz are blatantly so.

Examples: This is a business post. This guy already bought his ticket, so my response to him is diver to diver as part of a community forum. And Donna, the diver who died last October, is now perhaps a permanent part of me.

I am also a diver who loves diving the Galapagos and has an opinion just like anyone else.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

A vested interest doesn't necessarily negate the value of an opinion based on experience in the area. Thanks for your contribution DTG

 

[Hetland]

My own current experience indicates that fitness is before experience in importance. The current can easily wear you out quick and it isn't just going horizontally. That can be scary when you're already at significant depth. I'd also imagine that most of the people going to the Galapagos aren't cold water divers, and that is a big difference.

What good is fitness in a 3 or 4 knot current? It's about as useful as a teaspoon is at bailing out a boat. A diver in the water is a sorry thing indeed. The dumbest, weakest, sickest critter can outbreathe, outswim and outsurvive you on your best day. Waves, currents, reduced visibility care nothing for your bmi. Your training and experience are what keep you alive.

I'm not saying that fitness isn't important, but I know more than a few out of shape, overweight, middle-aged divers that I would trust my life to without reserve. It's their training, experience and temperament that make them better divers, not the amount of weight they can lift.

 

[drbill]

DiveTheGalapagos has made no attempt to hide her personal interest so I see no need to "out" her as she has been forthright.

A few years back I was in a 3-4 knot current that came up quite unexpectedly off Catalina. I was in very good shape (for an old guy) and normally could handle almost anything thrown at me. In this case it was difficult although I got to the current line with little problem. My pony tank valve got caught on the line though and it kept dragging me under. With one hand on the line and one on my untethered camera I could not free myself. These things happen.

 

[K_girl]

I have to agree with experience over brawn and fitness. I'm older and I could definitely be "fitter." On the dive I described, one of the divers who said he panicked was 36-year old male and in totally buff shape. So why did myself, an older less in-shape female fare better? Experience with asthma and knowing ahead of time exactly how I will handle situations that may require exertion.

On that particular dive, I forced myself to take long, deep breaths as I fought with the current to get to the dive site. I knew my muscles were going to demand more oxygen with more exertion and so I started the deep breathing early and let my exhale out naturally, not forced. I stubbornly set a moderate pace that was comfortable for me and fell behind. If the visibility had been poor (which it wasn't) I would have taken a compass heading on the group/buddy, so I'll get there when I get there. I didn't have to stop on that particular dive, I made my goal to the reef, but if I could no longer take deep breaths, that is when I know that I am starting to overexert myself and that would be my signal to stop. I highly recommend this technique for everyone, it really did work for me. Even though this dive was a 2.5 knot current (which we were fighting sideways, not head-on), I did not get asthma.

Next, if I can't make progress at my moderated pace against the current, it is time to abort the dive and I would have no shame about it.

I think if you are being guided through a heavy current to get to the dive site (i.e. to hook-in on the reef in the Gallapagos), it is a good idea for buddies to dive side-by-side. It is difficult for a lead diver to constantly be looking back in such conditions. The buddy behind them can disappear too quickly and if they are having trouble, they are not going to be able to catch the lead diver to let them know they need to abort.

 

[Heath Sapp]

This was verry bad I would to dive these places but I don't have the training yet couple years I will. I would like to send the family my regrets.

 

[K_girl]

I've also had a situation like drbill that got out of my control. Severe currents one day on the Spiegal Grove. We were lectured at the beginning of the dive, not to let go of the rope because the currents were so strong, we could very quickly be pulled away. The currents were so strong that it took a lot of strength just to hang onto the line on the surface. My dive buddy had jumped in and was hanging onto the tag line waiting for me, but she had to abort. She was trying to switch to her snorkel, but couldn't find it and swallowed a bunch of water. I was in the water, waiting for the next couple and I was going to dive with them. I let them go up the granny line first. Then I put myself inside the granny line next to the boat as I thought, if the current pulls me away from the rope, I won't be carried off in the current. I had no way of foreseeing what would happen next.

As I was pulling myself along, I heard the woman screaming, "I can't breathe" and they were very quickly headed for me with the current. I lifted the rope over my head to get outside the granny line, but they were tugging hard on the line and it got caught behind my head between my head and the tank. Then they were both practically on top of me and she was screaming "get out of my way." I couldn't. The rope was being pulled even harder against my neck and I started saying "I'm tangled and I can't breathe." I put my reg in my mouth and grabbed the rope and held it away from my neck, and with the other hand, grabbed further up the rope to take the pressure off. I relaxed my legs, so they were carried behind me, they were out of the way and I was on my back, just hanging on. They managed to get around me and out of the water, but I was left tangled in rope. I tried to twist to get out, but just made the worse, I couldn't tell the right direction to turn. I followed the instructions of the DM on the boat to untangle. I never thought at any time that I would not get out of the situation. I never felt panicked, but I was too exhausted to try and dive.

My dive buddy starts lecturing me about how I didn't get out of the way, the next thing I know there is a generic lecture on the boat about not twisting around and getting tangled in the rope. I thought - didn't you guys just see what happened? But I didn't say anything, I just thought it would look worse if I did, but I was a little miffed. If I made a mistake, it would have been getting inside the granny line, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Live and learn I guess.

 

[drbill]

In my situation, I had intentionally breathed my tank down to about 400 psi when I surfaced because I was filming a rare critter. I surfaced well upcurrent of the boat, expecting to drift down to it. Because my tank was low, I rolled on my back for the surface swim. Next thing I knew the boat was behind me... the current had quickly swept me past it. Because the current line was tangled on my pony tank valve, and I had no free hand to use, I couldn't turn it on to breathe when I went under due to the current.

Two mis-steps on my part (overbreathing the tank and not continually assessing my position relative to the dive boat) made this a much more difficult situation that it needed to be. Fortunately with several thousand dives (and the assistance of our divemaster) all ended up fine.

 

[ChrisM]

I haven't read through the whole thread, but I've been there a couple times, and well remember my first Seymour dive, as a huge current came up between the islands, I found myself alone (as often happens in Galapagos unless you are VERY observant) near the end of the dive, hanging onto a rock trying to complete the SS, wondering where I'd come up, and wondering why I ever agreed to go on that trip. The trip turned out to be spectacular, but Galapagos is one of those places where you just have to be ready to handle any condition at any moment, often on your own.

And it doesn't often matter if you are experienced. On our trip a diver with thousands of dives and numerous galapagos trips found himself separated from the group (no big deal) but then caught in the current between the Arch and Darwin, and sucked in near shore into an eddy. He had one hand swinging his weight belt at the silkies below, and another fending off the blue footed boobies attacking the epirb for the hour it took us to find him. However, had he been a newbie or not experienced and panicked, who knows what would have happened.

Sad for the diver, her family, and the other divers on board. Losing a diver in the Galapagos (edit: anywhere) is not fun for anyone.

This post isn't meant to reflect on the deceased's skills at all, just my own anecdotal experience